20

GAY PEOPLE's ChronICLE MARCH 8, 1996

EVENINGS OUT

One-woman show helps heal the pain of the Holocaust

by Doreen Cudnik

All of us, at one time or another, have experienced the healing power of laughter, often while enduring a seemingly humorless situation. But finding humor in the horrors of the Holocaust and in growing up the child of a concentration camp survivor would seem an impossible task for many. Not for native New Zealander Deb Filler, who brings her one woman tour-de-force Punch Me in the Stomach! to the Halle Theatre at the Cleveland Jewish Community Center, March 9 through March 17. Filler delights audiences with her "living family album," and introduces a cast of eccentric characters, many based on her own family members, who span the globe from Mexico City to Long Island.

The daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, Filler has been performing the show in front of sold-out audiences all over the world. The show, written in collaboration with Alison Summers (who also directs), is a moving testament to her people, and to survivors everywhere. Filler presents 36 characters during the 90-minute performance, never indicating which ones are real and which ones are made up.

"Let me put it this way," Filler said, “you'll recognize all of them; they're either from my family or yours, that's why we chose them. They may have different accents, they may be called different names, but the intention is for [the audience] to recognize them. They're from the universal family, really."

The show's title pays tribute to her Uncle Stan, who used to dare people to “Go on... punch me in the stomach," and then claim to not feel a thing. Empty picture frames make up the set's backdrop, signifying a full family, but there are no photos of the people who died.

Raised on a steady diet of American sitcoms while she was growing up in New Zealand,

Filler learned at a very early age how to mimic other accents. "I think the first accent I really developed was an American one," Filler said. "My sister and I used to get on the bus and we'd pretend to be American kids. And people would look at us because we were different. People would stop us, and say "you're the little American girls," which would make us really embarrassed. I was glued to Green Acres, and picked up the Eva Gabor accent really early. I loved the Dick Van Dyke Show and Hogan's Heroes--of course the German accent was one that I developed at a very early age.

As an adult, Filler moved from New Zealand to New York City, where she studied theater with Stella Adler and Uta Hagen. “I had this particular notion of the United States, because it's big, because there are a lot of Jews here, because anything went-it just seemed very exciting. America seemed very Utopic-very enticing and very exciting. I've since learned that the reality is very different from what I'd imagined."

Her show was first performed off-off Broadway at La Mama, then later moved off-Broadway to the New York Theatre Workshop. The Village Voice called her performance “extraordinary work," and Filler an "extraordinary story-teller." They went on to say that Punch Me in the Stomach "is an evening of theatre that is as black as comedy gets."

The show elicits many different responses from the audience, from winces of discomfort to appreciative howls of laughter.

"Several times, I've seen people who have seen this show laugh, and then clap their hands over their mouths and gasp at the same time because they're so shocked that they laughed," Filler said. "I often say at the beginning of a show, 'It's okay to laugh tonight.' You don't have to worry about it-nobody's going to accuse you of being insensitive."

Although there are no visible gay or lesbian

characters in this show, Filler said that gay people certainly will find healing in her message. "I think that so much of the gay and lesbian community relates to this show because of the AIDS crisis, and because of the fact that as minorities, we have to find humor in our oppresion in order to survive. My father, who was a survivor of Auschwitz, learned somehow to have a sense of humor. As Jewish people, we have this wonderful sense of humor, which I think has come about from telling stories and through having been persecuted, in some ways, I think it's a call for survival."

Filler has chosen her battles wisely, and when not performing, she lives a very quiet, private life in New York City. While she is a firm supporter of the gay and lesbian community, she has chosen, at least with this show, to focus her energies on speaking on behalf of survivors and their families. "Being the child of a survivor is kind of a big flag to fly, and I just made a decision early on that once I flew that flag, to fly the gay flag as well would be too much in this particular round.” In the next show she writes, though, Filler promises that there will be "if not two, at least one gay character, and I'm very excited about that."

Deb Filler

Filler said that laughing through our pain is something that we all do "it's a human quality and it sort of helps us get through it." However, Filler said, laughing at something in no way trivializes the experience. "Being a child of a survivor, one could never trivialize that. It's like trivializing AIDS. You can't do it. There's so much pain involved."

"Laughter,” she says, “is sort of like putting your hands on something warm and

soothing-it makes you feel better." And, she adds, paying tribute to another Jewish funny woman, "like Bette Midler said: 'Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.'

999

Chevrei Tikva, Cleveland's synagogue serving the gay and lesbian community, is sponsoring a potluck and discussion with Deb Filler on Friday, March 15 from 6-8 pm. Call 216-932-5551 for location or to order tickets to the Saturday, March 16 performance of Punch Me in the Stomach!

Tickets for other performances can be ordered by calling the Mayfield Jewish Community Center at 216-382-4000.

Join CyberGuy in supporting

AIDS WALK CLEVELAND

CyberGate inc. is

pleased to announce

it's Gold Sponsorship!A

Every Month a $5.00

donation will made

to Aids Walk from X

罒

四.

ALK

四

Leave Business Organization and Planning

Family Law Divorce

•

it to Wills Estate Planning • Elder Law

•

Weaver Auto Accidents/Personal Injury • DUI

Personalized

Solutions

for all

Legal Matters

216-621-7200

Criminal Law Landlord Tenant

Bankruptcy. Corporations

AIDS Discrimination

Weaver & Associates

Susan M. Weaver, Atty at Law 1370 W. 6th Street #212 Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1308

your subscription total!

$19.95 a month gets

you full, unlimited

InterNet Access.

AIDS

NON-PROFIT

VIRTUAL

PRESENCES

NVP

Check Out the WebSite at ... http://www.cybergate.net/aidswalk

CX B

YBERGATE

inc.

247-7660

C. Wesley Jackson, Jr. Ph. D.

Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, ABPP

Change Your Life For The Better

Counseling and Psychotherapy

Individuals Couples & Pairs ◆ Families Women's Personal Growth Support Group Executive Coaching

"Serving the confidential needs of Northeast Ohioans for over 30 years."

216/321-9355